TO paraphrase Monty Python's famous Yorkshiremen sketch ever so slightly . . . "Three games against the Arsenal in six days? That were nothing! We played them five times in 19 days, with the same team. And there were only one goal between us at the end."

Except it’s not a parody.

Liverpool and Arsenal really did meet five times in less than three weeks.

And after an intense marathon of matches between April 12 and May 1 1980, just a solitary goal separated the Gunners from Bob Paisley’s all conquering side.

Former Reds striker David Fairclough remembers the series of matches clearly, especially the name of the decisive goalscorer, the Arsenal midfielder Brian Talbot, who had joined the Gunners from Ipswich.

For Bob Paisley, though, the name was not so memorable.

“I remember those cup ties vividly,” said Fairclough, who scored in the first FA Cup semi-final replay at Villa Park.

“But it was an incident before the matches which I probably remember most.

“Before the first game Bob Paisley had delivered his team talk and told us ‘You’ll have to keep an eye out for the boy Osborne coming late on the scene.’

“We all looked around at each other muttering ‘Osborne?’

“Aye,” said Bob “Osborne. You know, the lad from Ipswich.”

“There were a few more puzzled faces until someone whispered ‘He means Brian Talbot. He signed from Ipswich.’

“Well that was a story he repeated before every one of the four semi-final ties – ‘Keep an eye out for the boy Osborne coming late on the scene.’

“We all knew that he meant Talbot, and he was right. The man who came late on the scene to score the winner in the fourth game at Coventry was . . . Brian Talbot!”

In 1980 FA Cup replays were usually scheduled to take place within days of the original drawn game, and penalty shootouts were still only restricted to European competition and the occasional Charity Shield.

So when Liverpool faced Arsenal in the FA Cup semi-final, the teams had to play, and play, and play until a winner could be found.

With Everton playing Second Division West Ham in the other semi-final, the prospect of a first ever all-Mersey Cup final was still a reality.

Except neither side could overcome their London rivals.

“The first semi-final was a scrappy game,” recalled Fairclough. “It was very nervy, very tense and there weren’t many chances.

“I remember sitting on the coach afterwards thinking ‘Well that was a bit of a non event.’

“Everyone was wound up to put it right in the replay and I managed to score to put us ahead.

“If I remember right they didn’t equalise until the last couple of minutes and there was a bit of controversy about the goal. We thought they were offside and there was a sense of injustice that Arsenal escaped with a draw.

“We played them in the league after that, and if I’m being totally honest, I don’t really remember that game at all, which shows how much focus we had on the cup ties.

“Mind you, Arsenal were just the same. They were a good side at the time, but you always had the feeling that they raised their game for the cups, and that’s borne out by their inconsistent league performances at the time, even though they reached three successive FA Cup finals.

“When we met them again, at Villa Park again, it was on a Monday night and Kenny Dalglish scored a last minute equaliser for us.

“We thought that had given us the momentum to go on and win the third replay, which was played at Coventry’s ground, but this time Arsenal scored the only goal.

“There’s no doubt it was tough playing the same players time after time. Arsenal had Willie Young and David O’Leary in central defence, with John Devine at full-back and Pat Jennings behind them – and it’s rare to play really well against the same player time after time.

“If you have done well against an individual, they will be even more focused to get you back the next time.

“It becomes a real test of mental strength. At best you’d probably come up against the same defender three times at the most in a single season, but five times in less than three weeks is very unusual.”

In 1980, squad rotation was an unheard of concept and the same group of players cancelled each other out time after time during that FA Cup saga.

Fairclough has every reason for believing Rafa Benitez’s men can exact revenge for that FA Cup semi-final exit 28 years ago.

“I watched the Arsenal game at Bolton last weekend and I saw plenty to give Liverpool encouragement for tomorrow,” he added.

“Bolton outclassed Arsenal and for long periods I thought the Gunners looked tired.

“Liverpool, on the other hand, looked full of running on Sunday in the derby and I think we can go there and have some joy.